Love Square Week
by NonexistentBeing
Summary: Oneshots for Love Square Week.
1. Senses

Marinette could see the joy in Adrien's face during the school picnic. He so rarely was allowed to eat sweets that the pastries Marinette had made were a gift sent from heaven. Marinette's heart went out to him.

She could smell the food before they opened the picnic basket. Adrien, Alya, and Nino were seated closest to her on the grass. Their classmates were chatting and laughing among the park benches. The aroma of their food didn't even compare to that of the basket Marinette had packed.

She could feel Adrien next to her, and when he moved to open the basket, his arm brushed hers. She felt her face heat up, and her arm tingled. He didn't notice, to her relief.

Marinette tasted the sweet food along with her three friends, but her reaction to the food was nothing compared to Adrien's. She saw his eyes light up, and he thanked her profusely for the picnic. The sweetness of her father's baking was lost in the sweetness of the moment.

But then, Marinette heard the screams of "AKUMA!" and knew that the moment was over. She and Adrien stood up in unison. They didn't hear the excuses each other gave, but both were gone in a flash.


	2. Bonding

**Note: please don't troll. Nobody likes trolls.**

"Catch me if you can, Chat Noir!" Ladybug shouted, surrendering to the moment and throwing her cares to the breeze. Her partner bounded after her, vaulting over the rooftops with ease in the night.

It had started off as patrol. Now it was so much more.

Usually, they didn't have time to hang out. Quality Bonding Time, Chat called it. But somehow they now found themselves in a game of tag. Or, also named by Chat, "a game of Chat and mouse."

Then he had winked and said, "Cats love mice."

But Ladybug was finding that she actually enjoyed his company. In their game, they kept up a light banter, but somehow it made them discover things they had never known about each other.

For example, Chat Noir loved sweets. She hadn't known that before, and now resolved to give him something as Marinette if he was ever around the bakery.

If she was happy about learning new things, her partner was ecstatic. He hadn't known his lady liked to sew, or that she preferred the sunrise over sunsets.

"It's the start of a new beginning," she had explained. She then tacked on, "If only I could wake up early enough to see them."

Another thing. His lady was not a morning person.

It just made him love her more.

Finally, as the moon rose overhead, Ladybug stifled her laughter and stopped swinging out of reach from her partner. He caught up to her, slinging an arm around her shoulder, which she removed.

But not as fast as usual, Chat Noir noted. That was progress.

"Sorry, kitty," she said, still smiling. "I have somewhere to be tomorrow, and this bug needs her sleep."

"Please don't leave," Chat Noir pleaded. "Ladybug, can't you stay for just one more minute?"

The use of her full superhero name gave her pause. But she needed to go. "Maybe next time," she settled on saying.

That gave Chat hope. There would be a next time.

"And Chat? I had fun."

She didn't witness her partner's surprised delight at that, already swinging away into the night, but Chat Noir answered her anyway.

"Milady… so did I."


	3. Secrets

Secrets.

Sometimes Marinette felt like she had too many of them. She was keeping things from everyone, everyone except Tikki.

She kept her superhero persona from Alya and her parents. She kept her civilian identity from Chat Noir. She kept her feelings for Adrien from… well, Adrien.

The last one was particularly challenging as of now. It was harder than one might have thought to keep a crush secret when that crush was doing a school project in one's bedroom.

"Marinette? Do you think the teacher would accept 'goldenness' as a property of gold?"

Routine project. Science. Properties of their chosen element. Or, it would have been routine if Marinette wasn't suffering from miniature electric shocks each time her partner's hand touched hers.

Adrien's green eyes flicked up from their work. "Marinette?"

Marinette jolted, knocking over the cluttered mess on her desk in her haste. Papers and books fell to the floor, and she hit her head on the desk as she ducked down to retrieve them.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked worriedly, kneeling next to her. She nodded, squeaking her thanks, and he began to help with the mess.

That was, until he picked up a locked box.

"What's in here?" he asked, simply out of friendly curiosity. Marinette, however, didn't take note of this. She squeaked loudly and snatched the box from him.

Her diary.

No, no, nononono, Adrien couldn't open that! It had everything in it… her embarrassing thoughts on him, and her being Ladybug!

"N-nothing!" she said, throwing it across the room. Adrien seemed bewildered, but he returned to cleaning up the mess and soon the two of them were busy working on their project.

Phew, Marinette thought. That had been close. She really hated keeping things from other people. But at least no one knew her secrets.

However, she didn't see the small black cat kwami grinning gleefully as he phased through her locked diary box.


	4. Fleeting Moments

Adrien very rarely was able to see Ladybug as _Adrien_.

Something was different about the way she looked at him as his civilian self. Her gaze seemed softer, warmer, and more nervous. It made Adrien's heart stop, then speed up to twice its normal rate.

He loved her. He wished he had more time to talk to her as Adrien, more time to impress her. But not in the way he impressed her as Chat Noir. No, that was reserved for his Chat side only. Someday, he hoped she would fall for those charms. But as Adrien, he wanted to impress her with the things he thought about her.

He wouldn't weird her out or anything. Just honest compliments, which she always returned with a blush, to his surprise and happiness. She must have been warming up to him, he was sure of it.

"The sunset is beautiful tonight," she remarked during the aftermath of an akuma attack that required Adrien's presence.

"So are you," he had said softly, afraid of sounding anything like Chat.

Ladybug had turned a brilliant shade of pink that Adrien wished he could see more often. She didn't tell him off for saying such a thing. Instead, she replied, "You're more beautiful – ah, I mean…" She clapped a hand over her mouth before she could say more.

Adrien had laughed, delighted. He hadn't known his lady could get embarrassed, and he loved her all the more for it. They shared a smile, letting the setting sun wash over them.

These moments were among the few that Adrien treasured most as his civilian self. He loved every second he spent in her company, especially when she showed a side of herself he'd never seen.

But all too soon, these moments would pass, leaving Adrien with the longing to see her look at him with love once again.


	5. Tension

Everything had changed.

Since finding out, Marinette hadn't spoken to Adrien or Chat Noir. There hadn't been any akuma attacks since, and she skipped patrol each night. She ignored Adrien at school, going out of her way to avoid him.

Adrien felt terrible. He was so incredibly in love with her – it didn't matter that she was Ladybug; he loved her with or without the mask. But it seemed she didn't feel the same way. She wouldn't talk to him, no matter what he did.

Then the akuma attack happened.

Marinette had been in class with him, and in unison they excused themselves. When Adrien followed her out of the room, hoping she would look him in the eye at last, the akuma crashed through the wall down the hallway.

"Marinette –" Adrien had begun, but he cut himself off with "Hide!"

His lady ducked into a nearby supply closet without thought, and he followed immediately, to her apparent surprise.

"A-Adrien – Chat Noir –" she stuttered, but he'd already shut the door.

"Milady," he replied, unsure. He suddenly realized just how small the closet was.

She seemed to have realized the same thing. Her face flushed scarlet in the dim light.

"We should transform," she said quietly.

"Yeah…" Adrien couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. Now was his chance. She wouldn't talk to him any other time. He needed to know.

"Marinette? Are you mad about… you know… me being Chat Noir? Adrien being me?"

Her blush intensified and he felt her shift against him. " _What_? No, of course not! I – I love –"

She immediately went silent, leaving the last word hanging in the air. _You_. Adrien felt surprise, then warming happiness. His lady loved him. Marinette loved him. She wasn't mad.

"I – I'm sorry if I was kind of ignoring you," she continued with a quaver in her voice. "I just needed time to think. I'm sorry, Adrien."

Adrien swallowed. He felt terrible for ever doubting her.

Quietly, so she wouldn't hear him, he whispered, "I love you, Marinette."

She froze, wide eyes meeting his. Oops. Not quietly enough, then.

He felt fire go to his cheeks. She let out a squeak.

"Um – we should transform," Marinette said.

"Y-yeah," Adrien replied, and the two of them called on their kwamis.

Throughout the battle, Adrien cursed himself. He had effectively made things ten times more tense with Marinette.

But the fist bump she gave him after the battle, lasting a few seconds longer than normal, and the small smile she sent his way assured him that all would work out in time.


	6. Kisses

Ladybug was not prepared for when Chat Noir found out about the kiss.

It had been many weeks and akuma attacks since Dark Cupid. She had been beginning to think he would never know what she had done. But of course, all good things come to an end, and Chat Noir found out.

He had been surfing the Ladyblog, catching up on all he'd missed lately, when he came upon the post with a full, crystal-clear image of Ladybug kissing him. Naturally he'd been stunned. After recovering, he had grilled his kwami until Plagg told him the complete events of that day.

When Chat Noir met up with Ladybug during patrol, he could scarcely contain himself.

"Hey, Bugaboooooo," he greeted, not even bothering to hide his goofy grin.

Ladybug was immediately on edge. She had been paranoid, paranoid he would find out about the kiss. She knew he would never let her live it down.

"What is it, kitty?" she asked with unease.

"So, I was reading the Ladyblog –"

 _Why on earth would you feel the need to do that?_ Ladybug wondered.

"– and I found out something pawsitively unbelievable that happened on Valentine's Day."

Ladybug covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, Chat! I had to break the spell! I didn't want to have to do it!"

Chat's face fell. "You didn't? Not even a little?"

She hesitated, hearing the change in his tone. Maybe that was harsh – but she didn't want to give him false hope –

"I had to do my job. My feelings come second," she said softly. She couldn't tell him that she had liked the kiss more than she wanted to. But she didn't want to lie and crush his heart.

"I know," Chat whispered. He gave her a small smile.

Oh, she knew she was going to regret this. She shouldn't play with his emotions, and she shouldn't question her own. Tikki would surely berate her for it later.

She returned his smile.

"But… it wasn't so bad."

His eyes widened in surprise just as she closed the gap between them and kissed him on the lips.

She pulled away far too soon, leaving him gaping, in disbelief, and ecstatic all at once.

Oh, that was the wrong thing to do, but part of her didn't regret it.

"See you tomorrow, kitty."


	7. The Reveal

It was time at last. The final battle. Hawk Moth's confrontation.

He'd had an akuma kidnap Chat Noir to lure Ladybug to his lair where he managed to subdue her. The two superheroes were now caged and defeated, but angry.

"You'll never get away with this!" Ladybug snarled, gripping the bars of the cage. She'd already used her lucky charm earlier. There were two layers to the cage; her partner wouldn't be able to destroy both of them without needing to detransform.

"So cliche, Ladybug," Hawk Moth chided. "But you should know not to argue. If you give me your Miraculous, you're free to go."

"Never!"

Hawk Moth considered her. "Very well," he said at last. "Maybe you'll reconsider after your partner _dies_."

Ladybug gasped, whirling to Chat Noir, only to find the akuma pressing an enchanted blade to his throat from under the bell.

Chat's wide green eyes met hers, and she saw the fear in them.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked desperately, turning back to face Hawk Moth.

The supervillain wasn't smiling. "I have my reasons," he said simply, "and you don't need to know them."

Ladybug considered her options. Her earrings beeped, letting her know she didn't have many of them. Chat saw the decision in her eyes.

"No, Ladybug!" he risked shouting, feeling the pressure of the blade against his throat. But he didn't care; his lady couldn't give up her Miraculous for him. "Please… don't do it."

His partner shook her head. "I don't have a choice."

Chat wanted to argue, but it was too late; in a flash of light, her transformation fell away, and in her place…

" _Marinette_?" he cried, but she didn't look at him. A tear leaked out of her eye as she held out the earrings, whispering her goodbyes to her grim kwami.

"Here. You monster."

Ladybug, _Marinette_ , dropped them into Hawk Moth's gloved palm.

Hawk Moth pocketed the earrings and turned to Chat Noir.

"Now. Give up yours or suffer a very painful death."

"Fat chance," Chat spat out. He'd rather die.

"Chat Noir," Marinette said. She was looking at him now, and she was _his lady_. And he loved her so _much_. "Chat, please." Her voice broke.

"Give it to him."

This was the end. The end of freedom, the end of fighting with Plagg, the end of their superhero lives. They were giving up.

"I love you, milady," Chat whispered. "I love you, Marinette."

She straightened, mouth opening in surprise.

Adrien dropped his transformation.


End file.
